


It Was Always You

by GetGoodGirl



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dom/sub, Dominant Ignis Scientia, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Multi, Mutual Pining, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:21:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27173749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GetGoodGirl/pseuds/GetGoodGirl
Summary: They've both always taken their duties seriously. They've both accepted their respective destinies.He's the prince's advisor, retainer, and dear childhood friend, raised from birth to protect and guide him at all costs.She's a respected council member, heir to a noble house, advisor to the king, and is expected to continue the legacy of loyal, royal retainers.For their entire lives, their worlds have run parallel to each other, blossoming into respected colleagues and associates but nothing more, despite potential deeper feelings. But a fateful series of events sends those worlds colliding and childhood revelations lead to some interesting conclusions. Maybe they have much more than duty in common.
Relationships: Ignis Scientia/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. Control

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I hope you enjoy this! 
> 
> Note: this chapter includes a small bit of seemingly non-con, drunken groping, but it's more welcome than it isn't. Everything else after this will be consensual!

“Loosen up, Specs. We’ll have a few drinks, Gladio will get turned down a few times, and then we’ll head home and sleep it off like usual. No need to worry.”

Ignis rolled his eyes as Gladio crossed his arms over his chest and snorted at the prince’s words. Prompto snickered behind his hand a bit before quickly quieting as the Shield and the Advisor glared at him in tandem. With a resigned sigh (one of the many he was sure he would let out throughout the course of the evening), Ignis turned back to the (poorly) disguised prince, meeting the younger man’s smirk with pursed lips as he adjusted his glasses.

“Noct, this isn’t the first time we have gone into an establishment such as this with a similar plan only for you to be discovered and swarmed by girls, and then the three of you become sloppily drunk before I have to drag you home,” the advisor said, frowning pointedly at the other three. Gladio gave him a hearty slap on the back as they entered the dimly lit club he didn’t even know the name of, the pulsing music already giving him a headache, along with seeing just how many bodies were pressed together in there.

“You’re right, Specs. Maybe we can break that pattern tonight.”

Ignis heaved a relieved sigh as he glanced up at Gladio, glad the other man was finally going to be an adult as well.

“Thank you for finally setting a good example Glad-…”

“We’ll get _you_ sloppily drunk instead! And maybe laid if you’re lucky!”

The larger man chuckled heartily as they pushed through the crowd toward the bar, Prompto and Noctis resuming their snickering. Another heavy sigh left Ignis’ lips and he shook his head.

He couldn’t believe he let them talk him into coming here. Why did he always let them do this? As the other men began to order drinks, he leaned against the bar, the strategist’s green eyes scanning the location for any threats, suitable exits, and other things that might help in case they got into a…situation. But when Prompto offered him a shot of something that looked, at best, questionable, he stared at it for a long moment before murmuring softly to himself.

“Oh to hell with it.”

The drink was knocked back with careful precision to the loud cheers of his three friends, who began ordering him more of whatever foul concoction he’d just downed. This was going to be a long night.

\--------

_A few hours later_

Jayna and Ayla were shamelessly flirting with two bulky men clad in black leather that looked like they were probably new Kingsglaive or Crownsguard recruits. New because the older ones never felt the need to flaunt the insignia of Lucis around when they went out just to try and get laid. Rookies, however, couldn’t help themselves. Not that Jayna and Ayla minded, they were happy to entertain them, it seemed. Ilaria, on the other hand, could only roll her eyes at the antics of her two companions.

Seated at the bar a few hours into this excursion, she had to fight to keep a pleasant expression plastered on her face while she checked her phone for the time, trying to figure out when it would be socially acceptable to call for her ride and head back to her apartment. She felt a bit bad about ditching Jayna and Ayla, but she knew she shouldn’t. Jayna and Ayla were probably fully planning on ditching her for Hunk 1 and Hunk 2 anyway.

Dark brown eyes scanned the crowd in a desperate attempt to find something or someone interesting enough to keep her attention, but she didn’t have much hope. No hope, that is, until she saw a familiar foursome sitting in one of the booths from the corner of her eye. Well, a familiar threesome and one that was doing a poor job of hiding in plain sight.

Her gaze landed on Gladiolus first, the biggest and loudest of the men, dressed in a kind of black business casual outfit tonight, of course with the top buttons of his dress shirt unbuttoned to show off his upper chest and sleeves rolled up to accent his strong forearms. Ilaria smiled and shook her head. Couldn’t that man ever fully dress himself? His long brown hair was half pulled up in a style that showed off the scar that decorated his face and only served to make him look more ruggedly handsome, somehow. He was laughing animatedly at something one of them had said, but she couldn’t tell if it was his usual big personality or the alcohol or both.

Next to him in the booth, in sharp contrast to the dark, big, and tall warrior, was Prompto. Ilaria hadn’t had much chance to interact with him, him being a few years younger than her and a commoner, but the few times she had spoken to him had left him stammering and blushing and her smiling. Compared to the other three, Prompto was a breath of fresh air and warm sunshine. Tonight, he was dressed in a slightly more upscale version of his usual punk rock style attire, switching out the denim vest for one that seemed to be made of silk or some other similar material, sneakers replaced with high shine boots, his bright blonde hair styled in his trademark chocobo butt style. Ilaria’s smile grew as she studied him, finding him adorable as he laughed alongside Gladio.

Across from the gunman sat the man who could only be Prince Noctis. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen him try and disguise himself to avoid the throngs of fangirls and wannabe princesses that would swarm him whenever he stepped outside of the Citadel or his apartment. While she saw through the disguise, it seemed to be faring well for the young prince tonight. In addition to the black cap that obscured his telltale blue black hair, Prince Noctis was wearing a black short sleeved button up, messily tucked into his black dress pants and boots. It was a lowkey enough outfit, and he’d probably be safe if no one recognized the band of men around him as his best friends and protectors. While he could never fully shake off the sullenness that seemed to follow him around naturally, he was smirking in amusement at whatever the others were laughing at as he sipped on his drink.

If the other three were here, then that had to mean that he was here too. Sure enough, Ilaria’s gaze finally landed on the fourth member of the motley crew, sitting next to Prince Noctis, and her breath hitched in her throat. Ignis. There he was. An unbidden blush rose in her neck and cheeks as she looked him over, trying to will it away, but it was impossible. He always looked amazing but tonight, away from their council meetings, he looked especially sexy, and she had to take a long swig of her drink.

The prince’s advisor and royal retainer was casually leaning back in the booth, wearing the most formal attire of the four. His black jacket splayed open to reveal a black button up like Gladiolus’, but it was of course impeccably pressed and buttoned up just right, decorated with black leather suspenders that peeked out from beneath the jacket. The only hint that he was less than fully put together was the way his sleeves were slightly rolled up, and her eyes rolled over the hint of strong muscle in his forearms and down to his gloves. Of course he was wearing those damnable gloves. That black leather taunted her every time she saw him in them.

A shudder wracked her body as she took another sip of her nearly empty drink and forced herself to look up to his face. His cheeks seemed a bit flushed, which was unusual, but otherwise none of the sharp studiousness had left his eyes. Those beautiful, piercing, intoxicating green eyes that were only accentuated by his glasses. The only thing about him that made her frown was the way he insisted on styling that dirty blonde mane of his, poking up above his forehead. The perfected style seemed to be drooping a bit as the night wore on, however, and that made her smile again. He always looked so much nicer when his hair was down, natural, looser. Unlike the others, however, he did not seem to be amused. She deduced that he was the one the others were amused by, and she wondered what they were teasing him about now.

Ilaria allowed herself to indulge in a few more long moments of watching him, studying him, daydreaming about him before she noticed that Gladio’s eyes had moved toward the bar. Clearing her throat, shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she turned back to the bar and motioned to the bartender that she was ready to close her tab. She had to get out of here before someone saw her here. As one of the youngest and newest members of the Lucian council, trusted advisor to King Regis, and the heir to one of the noble houses of Lucis, she had a reputation to protect. The last thing she wanted was for someone like Prince Noctis, Gladiolus, or Ignis to see her here, dressed in a short, (much shorter than she would have preferred, but Jayna and Ayla had insisted on something to ‘accent her assets’ and it had been easier to acquiesce than argue) black, skintight dress and high heels, along with more makeup than she had put on in months.

As she waited for the bartender to take and swipe her card, she anxiously twined her fingers through a tendril of long, auburn hair that had fallen out of her ponytail and brushed against her face. She willed the man to hurry the heck up so she could get out of here, frantically texting her code to the valet so her car would be ready when she left. As the bartender was ringing her up finally, she was trying to get Jayna and Ayla’s attention, noting that the two of them had moved into inappropriate dancing territory with the rookie hunks when she suddenly felt a hand on her ass.

It took her a while to process that she actually had an actual man’s hand on her actual ass and she was trying to figure out how to handle it when the voice attached to the hand spoke into her ear. She stiffened and if you asked her later, she would swear her heart stopped in that moment. The smooth, noble accent purred across her skin.

“Excuse me, would you mind if I bought you a drink?”

Ignis Scientia was touching her ass and apparently was propositioning her? This could not be real. Slowly, she gathered herself and fought to keep her breath even as she turned her head to regard the man beside her. As she looked at him, and he looked at her, she watched his face and expression turn in a matter of seconds from somewhat smooth flirtation to recognition, to shock and then dismay. It was clear he hadn’t realized who she was. She smirked at him and quirked her brow, and her own noble accent, like his own, responded as smoothly and confidently as she could.

“Lord Ignis. Would you mind explaining why you have your hand on my ass?”

Not that she minded. She’d give anything to have him groping just about any part of her. But she refused to let him know that in this moment. Oh no, she had a reputation to maintain. While in the privacy of her own thoughts and at home, she’d allow herself to swoon over this man like she had since high school, but before him, in front of his friends and others of Lucian society, she was Lady Ilaria, and she had to act like it.

Her words seemed to snap him out of his shock and he swiftly removed his hand. Ilaria had to fight every instinct in her to hide her slight disappointment as it left her.

“Lady Ilaria! I….ahem…I apologize, I was unaware that….well, I wasn’t expecting you….”

He was so cute when he lost his cool. She continued to look at him quizzically, looking him up and down, trying to put on her usual imperious air.

“Oh, I didn’t expect you to be the type of man who would grope any kind of woman, Lord Ignis, but apparently I was incorrect. I was under the impression you were a gentleman.”

His already flushed cheeks became even redder somehow, and he stammered again.

“Lady Ilaria, you were not incorrect. I am not that type of man, I am so sorry. I have had too much to drink apparently and was given some rather unfortunate advice.”

He grit his teeth and she followed his gaze as he glared at someone over his shoulder. It was then she saw Gladiolus, Prince Noctis, and Prompto behind him, all barely containing their laughter as they watched the scene unfold, Gladiolus seemingly the most amused of all. When she caught Gladiolus’ eye, he winked at her and she narrowed her eyes slightly at him, shaking her head before returning her attention to Ignis.

“I see. Well, Lord Ignis, as you are so often such a good advisor, please advise whoever gave you this advice that most women don’t appreciate being groped without being asked. Now, I was actually about to head home. I shall see you on Monday morning at the council meeting, of course. Have a good evening, Lord Scientia.”

With as much grace as she could muster, she stood up from the barstool and adjusted her hem before turning to the other three, dipping into the smallest of curtsies as she addressed the nobles with the respect expected of her position and station, a warm smile reserved for the younger blond.

“Good evening, your Highness. Lord Amicitia. Prompto. A pleasure to see you all.”

She dipped her head in a final farewell to Ignis before pushing past him and walking out of the club with her head held high and her expression as unreadable as she could make it. Inwardly, however, her heart was going a mile a minute and she had to get home _now_.


	2. Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys try and rile Ignis up, a couple of apologies, and some early morning discussion over coffee. Ignis' and Ilaria's worlds continue their slow collision course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is here! Building up slowly, because once the worlds collide, things will move fast. Sit back and enjoy the Ebony for now, folks.

The glare Ignis gave Gladio as Ilaria strode out the door was hot enough to turn lesser men to ash where they stood, but Gladio knew Ignis too well to be intimidated. Crossing his arms over his chest as he looked back at the man, his amber eyes sparkled with mischief.

“What’s that look for, Specs?”

The normally calm, composed, and unflappable Ignis was still reeling from the fact that not only had he just unwittingly made a move on Ilaria, but he had done so drunkenly and with a rude, ungentlemanly assault on her behind. All on the advice of Gladio. He strode forward to look at the towering Shield, poking him in the chest with a gloved finger.

“’Go up and touch her ass, women like it when you’re assertive’ you said, Gladio. You practically goaded me into it! And now, now I…. I’ve made a complete and utter fool of myself in front of….in front of….”

“In front of the woman you’ve had a hard on for since high school?” Gladio was smirking widely now, his eyes all too knowing about how the advisor felt about their fellow noblewoman. The smug expression from the Shield made Ignis narrow his eyes even further as his suspicions grew.

“You knew, didn’t you? You knew that was her, didn’t you?! And you let me…you encouraged me to…You son of a bitch!”

Prompto and Noctis exchanged nervous glances as the conversation heated and they tried to gradually nudge their larger, older friends toward the door, just in case it turned into a fistfight. Neither of them had ever seen Ignis so heated before, but Gladio didn’t seem interested in cowing to his fury. Gladio just shrugged.

“I thought she looked familiar. How was I supposed to know you’d listen to me this time? You never have before. Besides, I’m tired of having to watch you gaze longingly at her every time I’m there to guard a council meeting or she walks by while we’re training. Also, I think she liked it.”

Ignis sputtered and seemed to lose some of his fire as they made their way toward the door, replacing it with indignation.

“I have no idea what you’re referring to, Gladio. I do no such thing. Lady Ilaria is nothing but a respected colleague and associate. I admit when we were younger, perhaps I entertained a schoolboy’s crush on her, but that is no longer true. As for whether she liked it, I believe you are seeing things. It was clear she was unamused by my fumblings, and now I need to craft a proper apology for when I see her on Monday. Imagine, the prince’s advisor groping an esteemed member of the council, a lady at that. It’s shameful. I was lucky she didn’t slap me like I deserved.”

Ignis shuddered at the thought, but it was clear that even as he was speaking, the blush was creeping up his cheeks again. Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio all rolled their eyes and shook their heads at him, but the mischief returned to Gladio’s expression as he sidled up next to Ignis as they left the club and headed for the car. He had one more button to push and he couldn’t wait to see what happened.

“Oh, well then, if all of that’s true, then I suppose you wouldn’t mind if I made my move on her instead, huh? I mean, I can just imagine what she’s like in bed. So composed and elegant on the outside, she’s probably wild in the sack. We used to call her Bookworm back in school. It’s always the good girls, am I right? Plus, I’m a noble, she’s a noble, imagine Lady Ilaria Amicitia. I like the sound of it.”

Noctis and Prompto nodded solemnly in agreement, picking up on Gladio’s game while Ignis tried to push the images Gladio was conjuring from his mind and he scowled at all of them as he turned the car in the ignition, gloved fingers gripping the wheel tightly. All the prior events of the past 10 minutes had been enough to sober him right up, not that he was actually that drunk before. It was then that Noctis decided he wanted to play and poke at Ignis as well.

“I mean, sure Gladio, but surely she’d jump at the chance to end up with a prince, right? Man, I see her sometimes during the council meetings or around the Citadel and I think about pushing her up against the council table or a wall and making her scream ‘Prince Noctis’ for all to hear. She’d look so good next to me on the throne, or, you know, kneeling in front of it. I’m sure dad would approve of such a pure, well-bred noblewoman as the next queen.”

The car nearly collided with another as Ignis backed out of the parking space they were in as the flashes of the scenes Noctis described flashed through his mind. Horns blared as he barely braked in time and had to shake his head to clear it. He let out a low, warning growl, indicating he was near his breaking point, and the other three grinned at each other. Prompto, sweet innocent Prompto, decided to put the final nail in the coffin when he spoke up cheerily from the front seat.

“Man, I know she’s a noble and everything and too good for a pleb like me, but maybe she likes that kinda thing, you know? Maybe she just wants to be taken by a commoner, brought down a peg by her lessers. I hear some nobles like that, ya know? She’s so calm and put together, I bet she’d look so cute all messed up, and take great pictures…”

That was the last straw. As the car stopped at a red light, Ignis took a deep, ragged breath and spoke tersely, making sure to keep his eyes on the road but it was clear that if he could, he’d be glaring daggers at each of his so-called friends.

“I know what you all are trying to do, I’m not stupid. It is not up to me who courts or doesn’t court Lady Ilaria, but you all should know none of you have a chance. Lady Ilaria is an intelligent, kind, thoughtful, gentle, proper, and progressive woman who deserves to be wooed and courted properly. Not manhandled by a giant ape, made a toy of by a prince, pawed at by a boy, or groped by me. And if you continue to try and disparage her reputation and imply she’s some kind of wanton harlot, I will just have to inform her of how you all feel about her.”

The other three men blanched at the smooth threat in the advisor’s words, his tone clipped and serious. They glanced at each other and grimaced, and Noctis finally spoke up, clearing his throat, trying to smooth over the situation.

“Sorry, Specs, you don’t have to do that, clearly. You’re right. We shouldn’t have talked about her that way.” He glanced at Prompto and Gladio, and the other two men mumbled their own apologies, the game now clearly over. As much as they loved trying to fluster the advisor, they knew better than to push it too far. Satisfied with this turn of events, Ignis nodded and turned up the radio for the rest of the ride to Noctis’ home, where he dropped off Prompto and Noctis first, both of them getting hit by the alcohol by now and looking exhausted. Once Ignis and Gladio were sure the two boys were safe in Noct’s apartment, Ignis began the short drive to the building he and Gladio lived in.

The silence stretched between the two friends as they sat together in the car and finally Gladio heaved a heavy sigh and turned his amber eyes to Ignis.

“Listen, I really am sorry. I knew that was Ilaria, yeah. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of it and encouraged you to do that. Honestly, I didn’t think you would.”

Ignis shook his head a bit and sighed before replying, “It’s not entirely your fault, Gladio. I should have listened to my own better judgment, but perhaps my desire to prove to you all that I’m not some old, what was the term Prompto used… oh yes, fuddy duddy, overwhelmed my usual instincts. It should be fine, she didn’t seem too cross about it all. I’ll apologize on Monday and everything will be well, I hope.”

Gladio gazed quietly at his friend, frowning in thought. He thought for a long while about saying something else before he changed his mind and looked out the window, shrugging one shoulder as they pulled up to the apartment building and exited the car.

“I’m sure it will be, Iggy. She’s probably going to forget all about it by then.”

“Quite. Goodnight, Gladio.”

“Night Iggy.”

\--------------

_Monday morning – The Citadel_

Early morning council meetings were the bane of Ilaria’s existence generally, but they were made doubly worse on Monday mornings. She really did not understand why Regis and Clarus insisted on holding meetings first thing, but she supposed it was their prerogative. If she were king, or queen rather, she would be sleeping in and no meetings would be held until at least noon. Smirking as she rapped away on her laptop in her office about an hour before the first one started, the barest hints of sunlight beginning to stream through her windows, she thought, “ _I suppose that’s why I’m not in charge of scheduling._ ” She just hoped that perhaps, when Noctis and Gladiolus were in charge, things would start later. The prince, after all, was ever so slightly notorious for not being a morning person.

All these thoughts and others streamed through her consciousness as she went through emails and made notes, desperately wishing she had some coffee in front of her. Instead, she sipped her water and wrinkled her nose at a particularly distasteful update on the state of the war with Niflheim, sighing and shaking her head as she read the list of captured villages and towns as the empire marched progressively further east. Those emails and updates always broke her heart, but the ones that further crushed it were the reports of immigrants and refugees being harassed, assaulted, or abused at the hand of Insomnians. Frowning, she removed her reading glasses from her nose and rubbed the bridge of it, trying to relieve the stress before continuing.

She hated that there wasn’t more she could do about it, but every time she thought to bring up the subject, anxiety ate at her. As the most junior member of the council, she didn’t feel it was her place to broach such a tempestuous topic, especially without a solution, so she just kept her mouth shut while her father and the others argued in circles and never came to conclusions. She knew it was the coward’s way out, but she just couldn’t. One day she would, though. One day. She closed her eyes to offer a silent prayer to the gods for guidance for the day, and it was while she was deep in those thoughts that she heard a gentle, but purposeful, knock on her slightly ajar door, followed closely by a masculine clearing of the throat.

“Ahem. Excuse me, I hope I’m not interrupting…?”

Ilaria almost didn’t want to open her eyes when she heard whose voice it was. What was he doing here? In the couple of years since she’d begun slowly taking on her father’s duties and working in the Citadel full time, he had never been to her office. She had never even seen him in this wing of the building. Since they had graduated high school, they had only spoken one on one a handful of times, and very briefly, but here he was in her space for the second time in a few days. Her eyes were still closed as she changed the prayer to a curse, wondering why the gods had chosen now to bring her to ruin by bringing her ridiculous crush to the forefront of her thoughts again and again. After a split second to calm herself, she peeked one brown eye open to see Ignis Scientia, looking absolutely too sinfully attractive for a Monday morning, smiling at her from the door of her office, his hands (mercifully ungloved this time) holding two small cups.

“Oh! Lord Scientia, no, you’re not interrupting at all! Is there…. something I can help you with?”

She stood behind her desk, suddenly feeling very self-conscious in the pre-meeting attire she currently had on. When working in her office before her day really started, she often wore a casual jeans and t-shirt combo, and this morning was no different. Thankfully said shirt was a tasteful black this morning and didn’t have any yogurt stains on it (yet), but it was still much more casual than she would be comfortable being seen in. Her usual business black shift dress and cardigan outfit was hanging behind her, and she wished she had that on to cover herself, her armor for her days. Oh well.

Ignis smiled and stepped into the office, closing the door slightly behind him before he stepped in, wearing black slacks, a silvery gray dress shirt, and black suspenders. He sat one of the cups down on the desk and Ilaria blinked when she saw the Ebony label on it.

“I wasn’t sure if you drank coffee, I’ve never seen you drink it before, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to bring a peace offering along with my apology.”

With an uncertain but grateful look, she took the cup, took a long inhale of the heavenly aroma, and immediately began to down the drink, letting out a small noise of pleasure before she remembered herself and cleared her throat. Ignis was looking at her with an air of surprised interest.

Nervously fidgeting with her dark hair, she smiled sheepishly. “I love Ebony, actually, but father says that ‘coffee and other such substances are addictive and only offer the illusion of clarity, and are consumed by those who can’t rely on their own quickness of wit’ so I don’t drink it here in the Citadel where he might see. I do, however, indulge whenever he isn’t around. I appreciate the offering, even if it isn’t necessary.” With a blush and another sip, she motioned for him to sit if he wished and looked at him curiously as she sat as well. “You mentioned an apology?” She wasn’t going to insult him by acting as if she didn’t know what he was apologizing for. His gentlemanly nature wouldn’t allow it.

Ignis, for his part, noted the explanation about her father with an eyebrow raise before chuckling and taking his seat, sipping his own coffee. “I see. With all respect to your father, I will have to disagree immensely. It will be our secret.” She tried to hide her rising blush at the idea of sharing a secret with Ignis Scientia, even one as simple as a shared love of coffee. “And yes, an apology. Lady Ilaria, I wanted to offer another, distinctly less inebriated apology to you for what happened the other night. What I did was absolutely unacceptable, and I want you to know that I respect you as a colleague and esteemed associate, and under normal circumstances, I would have no interest in putting any part of myself on any part of you, believe me.” He offered a reassuring smile, or at least she was sure she was supposed to take it that way, but she had to focus all her energy and attention on not looking completely devastated by those words.

“Oh.”

After a few moments, she forced a smile to her face and the laugh that escaped her sounded more forced than she meant it to, but she hoped he wouldn’t notice. “Oh, no, of course, Lord Ignis. I completely understand. Even the most composed of us do silly things sometimes. I promise you, it was nothing. I accept your apology, but just like the coffee, it was unnecessary.” Her dark eyes studied him as she spoke, taking a long drink from the Ebony, trying to steady her nerves and quell the breaking of her heart.

She didn’t know why she was reacting this way. Of course, he had no interest in her. He never had before, so why would he do so now? He was only here to do the gentlemanly thing, nothing more. After this, they would go back to their usual patterns, completely ignoring each other except for in meetings and at social gatherings. There would be no reason to do otherwise. It would be back to normal, and she could go back to loving, no, lusting, after him from afar and he could go back to pretending she didn’t exist.

Lost in these thoughts, she almost didn’t hear what he said next.

“I appreciate your grace and poise, as always, Lady Ilaria. By the by, I didn’t know you wore…” He made a motion to the general area of his own nose and eyes and her brows furrowed in confusion. “What?”

“I didn’t know you also wore glasses, my lady.”

“Oh!” She had totally forgot she was wearing them, and this time her laugh was genuine as she snapped out of her earlier thoughts. She could mope later. “Oh, well, I don’t really wear them in public very often. I don’t need them to see, I’m merely a bit farsighted, so I wear them when I’m alone and reading in my office. I like my world to be – “

“Crystal clear.” They spoke in unison, and she blinked at him again, eyebrows raising as he smiled knowingly.

“I understand completely. While my vision correction is a bit more necessary, I wear mine for similar reasons. You should wear them more often, they suit you.”

Ilaria wasn’t quite sure what to say about that as they shared eye contact for what seemed like forever but also not nearly long enough, brown eyes staring into green. The silence dragged on for a long moment before it was interrupted by simultaneous alarms ringing, one from the spot where her phone rested on her desk, the other from his pocket. Breaking from the uncertain spell it seemed they were both under, they both reached for their phones and swiped the alarms away and offering explanations.

“Oh, just my half hour warning before the meeting-…”

“30 minutes until our first meeting of the week-…”

Once again, they looked up at each other and this time it was to share a laugh as they both realized they shared the similar habit. “ _Coffee, glasses, work habits…I wonder what else we have in common….”_ She thought to herself as she smiled at him and he smiled at her before she cleared her throat.

“Well, it seems we’re saved by the bell, Lord Ignis. I suppose we both have things to get ready. Thank you again for the coffee and the apology. Please, give my regards to his Highness, Lord Amicitia, and Prompto when you see them.” With the understanding that the conversation was over and Ignis had fulfilled his gentlemanly duty, Ilaria stood and headed for the door to show him out. The look Ignis gave her nearly gave her pause, however, as it seemed he wanted to say more, but the look was gone as soon as it appeared and he stood up, nodding to her.

“Of course, Lady Ilaria. I shall do so. It was lovely to see you again. Have a good day.”

With the slightest bow, he smiled and then he was gone. As the door clicked shut, Ilaria let out a heavy sigh and leaned her head against the foggy glass surface, trying to compose herself. There would be plenty of time to deconstruct that entire interaction later. For now, she had business to attend to.


End file.
